Tony Bennett - Life Is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett

Life
IS A
Gift

T HE Z EN OF B ENNETT

Tony Bennett

Foreword by Mitch Albom

I would like to dedicate this book to my wonderful family, my lovely wife, Susan Benedetto, and to Robert Henris The Art Spirit.

Contents

W e were standing on an empty concert stage. Tony Bennett opened his mouth.

BUHP!

The sweet, single note seemed to bounce off the rear wall and boomerang back to us, perfectly intact.

Hear those acoustics? he said.

Do it again, I said.

BUHP!

He listened as the note resonated. Then he smiled, and I realized I was witnessing something rare: a man hearing the sound of his own voice and having every reason to delight in what he heard.

If there is, as the subtitle of this book suggests, a Zen of Tony Bennett, it is surely that: a philosophy of life so pure and honest that it can smile when it hears itself sung back. How many of us can say that? How many of us cringe at a recording of our own voices, or when we see ourselves on video, or when we think about how we acted yesterday or last year?

Tony Bennett, at eighty-six, can smile when his world is reflectedand with good reason. You are tempted to say talent, but many a talented artist has despised his own gifts. You are tempted to say success, but how many successful people are privately miserable?

No, the reason for Bennetts serene lookon that day in the concert hall, or any night hes onstage, or holding a brush in front of a canvas, or gazing out his window overlooking Central Parkis that hes doing what he wants to do, the way he wants to do it. He makes art. He makes friends. He gives away. He owns very little.

The word Zen is tied into enlightenment. First you seek it, then you share it.

The Zen of Tony Bennett is that hes still doing both.

Ask Tony about music, and he will quickly cite an influenceArt Tatum, his teachers after the war, his father, who once sang from a hilltop in an Italian village. Ask Tony about art, and he will defer to his instructors, or da Vinci, or any of the masters. Humble? This is a man who started his own arts high school, but named it after Frank Sinatra.

He shares credit. He deflects praise. The only thing he grips hard is his artistic standards. He became famous in a suit and never took it off, wore it through a hundred other fashions until it once again became the height of cool. He chooses tunes that are timeless, melodic, never consumed by the beat of the moment.

And because he sings the Great American Songbook, some might categorize Tony as conventional, but he has never been conventional, because conventional means you do anything to stay in vogue, you go from pop to rap, from writing to posting, from privacy to filming yourself on YouTube.

Change or die, they say.

Or dont, Tony replies.

Now, thats Zen.

There is a reason Tony Bennett has won seventeen Grammysthe first in 1963, the latest forty-nine years later. Its because true art will stroke through fads and rise above the surface. Its the same reason both Bing Crosby and Judy Garland declared that Bennett was their favorite singer, but Amy Winehouse was thrilled to sing with him, too. The same reason he has won Emmy awards in two centuries. The same reason hes been welcome on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Simpsons .

Duke Ellington once said, People do not retire. They are retired by others. Tony Bennett would not let that happen, and his perseverance has been rewarded and embraced. People sensed, correctly, that from decade to decade, he has remained true, a man who cares deeply about his art, and an artist who cares deeply about his humanity. His work on behalf of children, fellow musicians, and his hometown of Astoria, Queens, is inspiring. He does so many fund-raisers, he is jokingly nicknamed Tony Benefit.

Yet as you will see in these pages, his life has been full of its own poignant moments, holding his dying fathers hand in a hospital, fighting in a war, lapsing briefly into drugs, hitting depression over a failing marriage, and having his spirits lifted by a choir in a hotel hallway, sent to him by Ellington himself.

Tony persevered and thrived, thanks mostly to his devotion to music. It has been his cape and his swaddling cloth, a gift to him and his gift to us.

Go with truth and beauty, and forget everything else. It is one of the tips Bennett offers in this book, and part of why the New York Times recently said of Bennetts work, We arent likely to see a recording career like this again.

We arent likely to see a man like this, either. Ive been around so many people who meet Tony, and when they walk away say, Gosh, I just want to hug him!

I understand. He is the note that bounces off the wall and returns to you in gentle perfection. Who would ever want to let that go?

Mitch Albom,

author of Tuesdays with Morrie

and The Time Keeper

I ve been performing professionally as an entertainer now for over sixty years. Somehow I cant believe the time has gone by so quickly. Its been an amazing journey, and I feel privileged that Ive been successful doing what I love for my whole life. Of course there have been ups and downs, but I can honestly say that I have always tried to learn from my mistakes.

I rarely look back; instead, I always look forward. There is so much of life that we miss when we wallow in regret. My energy is better spent concentrating on all the things I have yet to learn and experience. I think this has made me into a much better person. Im at peace with myself now, and I look forward to each new day.

From a young age, I was taught never to compromise. My parents and teachers showed me that you should make every move with care, and put the accent on quality. If you apply this philosophy, you will never go wrong. And I have found that, in particular for a performer, the public will pick up on that attitude and will reward you by giving back what you give to them. I never sing a cheap song. I never look down at the audience and think that they are ignorant, or think that Im more intelligent than they are. To think otherwise is totally incorrect, and runs contrary to everything I was raised to believe.

I love entertaining people; I strive to make them feel good, and they make me feel wonderful. To explain it simply, I love what I do, and my ambition is to get better as I get older. Thats really what Im all about.

To my mind, being in the entertainment business is the best job that anyone could have. I get to travel the world over, meet interesting people, and experience many cultures. Ive become close to artists of all ages in music, art, and the theater. Ive sung for eleven presidents, and have performed for royalty. But, best of all, I get to meet my fansthe people on the streetface-to-face. They are the ones who help me stay grounded. I learn more from them than from anyone else.

Im also lucky because I get to work with my family. Im blessed with creative children: my eldest son, Danny, has been my manager for over thirty years, and my son Daegal produces and engineers my records. My daughter Johanna has dedicated her life to philanthropic endeavors; my youngest, Antonia, is a talented singer in her own right and often joins me on tour. My wife, Susan, has worked with me in realizing my dream of establishing a New York City public high school for the arts, and she travels with me wherever I go. Being surrounded by family is very important to me. Its such a privilege to be able to do what I do.